How to Get Rid of Anything

DIY jobs generate junk. Here's how to get rid of it.

Learn how to get rid of household junk, unneeded building materials and other unwanted stuff with these tips and strategies from TFH staff and Field Editors.

By the DIY experts of The Family Handyman Magazine:July/August 2012

"Free" makes junk vanish

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How to get rid of leftover building materials

You know the old saying: “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” The simplest way to get rid of unwanted building materials is to just put it on
the curb with a “free” sign. When Gary Wentz, one of our editors, knocked down a stone retaining wall, he put a “free stone”
sign on the curb. People were practically fighting over the rubble, and 12 tons of stone vanished in one afternoon. But don’t be
surprised if something reappears. Field Editor Cory Cochran put a freezer by the road with a sign that read “free—broke.” It was gone the next day. Then a few days later, Cory found it back in his yard. Maybe he should have added “no returns” to the sign.

Break up a cast iron tub

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How to get rid of a bathtub

Some things are just so heavy to move in one piece
that you shouldn’t unless you absolutely have to. A
cast iron bathtub is one of them. The trick to getting rid of it is to break
it up with a sledge. But be careful! Cast iron shrapnel
is sharp and dangerous. Cover the tub with a
blanket or drop cloth and be sure to wear long
sleeves, safety glasses and hearing protection. Don’t
expect the tub to break easily on the first swing. You
may have to hit the same spot repeatedly to get a
crack started. It’s hard work, but at least you won’t
break your back trying to lift the tub in one piece. This trick works for cast iron radiators and pipe too.

How to get rid of stuff online

Even if you think no one would want the item,
list it in the “free” category on a Web site. You’d
be amazed at what people will take. Our Field
Editors have gotten rid of all kinds of junk this
way: half-rotten fence planks and worn-out
appliances. Here’s a list of Web sites where you
can place listings to sell, give away or trade
your stuff, plus find information about
recycling and safe disposal.

Cut a water heater in half

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How to get rid of a water heater

It’s a lot easier to move a water heater in two pieces—especially if it
has 50 lbs. of sediment in the bottom—and it’s surprisingly easy to cut
one in half. You could use a recip saw, but a circular saw with a ferrousmetal
cutting blade is faster. Be sure to wear goggles or a face shield,
hearing protection and long sleeves. Many appliances can be cut; just be careful not to cut through refrigerant tubing or glass.

Cut it up fast with a ferrous-metal blade

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How to get rid of appliances and other steel junk

Here’s the blade we used to cut up the water heater. It’s engineered
to cut any mild steel, so when you’re done cutting up
your old water heater or refrigerator,
you can cut angle iron, rebar, metal
conduit or threaded rod, to
name a few items. You’ll
find ferrous-metal cutting
blades at home
centers and hardware
stores for about $40.

Turn waste wood into mulch

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How to get rid of old wood

Here’s an ingenious idea from Field Editor Tom Berg.
After making sure the nails were removed, he ran 2,200
sq. ft. of siding through a wood chipper to make a
mountain of great-smelling cedar mulch for his gardens.
He saved a ton in trash container fees and had
loads of free mulch to boot. You could do the same with
pine or any other soft wood, but the mulch will decompose quicker than cedar.

Field Editor Tom Berg

He Saved $400

For most of us, trash disposal is an
unavoidable cost of remodeling. But
Tom Berg managed to complete an
entire home addition without spending
a penny on junk removal. He listed
lumber, siding, windows and doors on freecycle.org
and was surprised when people hauled them away
for free. Even the scrap lumber got used as a bonfire
for a church outing. He turned the cedar siding into
mulch (see above) and threw the small amount of
remaining stuff in the regular trash.

Buy a Bagster bag

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How to get rid of debris

If you have too much junk to fit in
your trash can, but not enough to
warrant renting a 10- or 20-yard
trash container, then a Bagster bag
is the answer. Buy the green poly
bag at a home center or hardware
store, fill it up and call the company
for a pickup. The bag holds 3 cubic
yards or up to 3,300 lbs. of debris.
The Bagster bag costs around $30. When
you’re done with it, you’ll be
charged a flat rate of $80 to $160 to
have it picked up, depending on collection
costs in your area. Find out more at thebagster.com.

Dumpster Rental Tips

Trash bins, aka “Dumpsters,” aren’t cheap. And there are plenty of ways to make mistakes
with their rental and use. We pooled our experiences to bring you these six
money-saving tips:

Search for a local hauler either on the Internet or in the Yellow Pages. Most of the top
Dumpster listings on Internet searches are actually just brokers who may charge about
$200 more. So scroll down until you find an actual local trash bin supplier.

Telling the hauler what you’ll be putting in the bin may help you get the size you need.
For example, the staff will know that you’ll need a 15-yard bin to dispose of 20 squares
of shingles.

Negotiate a longer rental period up front if you know you’ll need extra time. It’s
cheaper to extend the rental time than to rent a new bin to finish the job.

Get the bin properly placed. Figure out where you want the bin, allowing enough
room for the swing door to open fully. Then mark your driveway so the driver knows
exactly where to place it (if you won’t be there when it arrives). Provide wood blocks to
protect your driveway if they’re not included with the rental.

Don’t let it become the neighborhood trash bin. You’ll be amazed at how many
“good” neighbors will dump trash in it without your permission. So tell them you’re renting
a bin and ask if they want to share the cost. That way, they’ll be on the lookout for
nonpaying “dumpers” too.

Cover it with a tarp if you won’t be using it for a few days. That’ll keep snow and rogue
“dumpers” out.

Disassemble your old box spring

Faced with the problem of how to get rid of his old bed, Field Editor Andrew Pitonyak stripped the fabric and padding
from his box spring and left the metal springs on the
curb for the local scrap collector to pick up. He saved the
$20 cost of getting rid of the box spring and helped the environment by recycling the metal.

Recycle a sidewalk

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How to get rid of old concrete

Why spend a fortune hauling away old concrete when
you can build a wall or path with it? Several of our Field
Editors used old concrete from torn-out sidewalks and
driveways to build paths, patios and walls. For walls,
stack it like flat stones with the broken side facing out.
For paths or patios, you can lay the broken pieces of
concrete like flagstones and then plant a creeping ground cover or pour gravel between them.

Excess dirt is an opportunity

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How to get rid of dirt

Digging a hole for a pond or fountain? You can save yourself
time and money by turning the extra dirt into a landscaping feature.
Here we piled the dirt along the back of the pond to create
an earth berm. Covered with plants, the berm made a perfect backdrop for the pond.

Heavy-duty contractor bags

Disposal Tip

Dry out your old paint

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How to get rid of old paint

If you have a bunch of almost empty
cans of latex paint and don’t want to
take them to the recycling center,
here’s a tip. Spread a sheet of plastic—painter’s plastic is cheap and readily available at home centers and hardware
stores—in an out-of-the way spot
and dump a thin layer of paint on it to
dry. When the liquid has evaporated, bundle it up and throw it in the trash.

Get money for metal

Wondering how to get rid of metal junk? You can get money for almost any kind
of scrap metal. You won’t get much for
steel (about 10¢ per pound as of July 2012),
but that’s better than paying to get rid
of it. And other metals are worth a lot
more: about $3 per lb. for copper and
80¢ per lb. for aluminum. You can even
pull circuit boards out of electronic equipment and turn them in for bucks.

Tools & Materials List

Required Tools for this Project

Have the necessary tools for this DIY project lined up before you start—you’ll save time and frustration.

Ferrous-metal saw blade

Circular saw

Leather gloves

Dust mask

Hearing protection

Drop cloth

Reciprocating saw

Safety glasses

Sledgehammer

Wrecking bar

Wood chipper

Required Materials for this Project

Avoid last-minute shopping trips by having all your materials ready ahead of time. Here's a list.